It's December. All around you people are decorating their trees, making their Christmas lists, and planning their big holiday dinner. Kids are anxiously awaiting the day when Santa delivers their presents. But why? Where did it all come from?
Ancient Beginnings
Centuries before the birth of Christ, Europeans held mid-winter celebrations to celebrate light and birth in the dark days of winter. They rejoiced when the winter solstice arrived, for that meant the return of the sun. In Europe, the end of December meant the wine was done fermenting for the year and the cattle were being readied for slaughter. This would be the freshest meat they would have all year long, so in their eyes it was a good time to hold a big celebration.
In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule. They started December 21st, and the celebration would last well into January. The fathers and sons would head off into the trees and find the biggest log the could carry home. They would set these logs ablaze, and would feast until the log burned out. The Norse believed that for each spark of the fire, a new piglet or calf would be born the following year.
In Rome, a holiday called Saturnalia was celebrated honoring Saturn, the god of Agriculture. It would begin the week leading up to the winter solstice, and would continue for a full month afterwards. It was a hedonistic holiday, marked with abundant consumption of food. Peasants would be in command of the city, slaves would command their masters; the whole Roman Empire would be turned on its head. Businesses and schools would close. It was also during this time that the Romans celebrated Juvenalia, a feast they held in honor of their children. The upper class Romans would hold a feast in honor of the birth of the infantile god Mithra, the god of unconquerable sun, on December 25th. Some considered this time to be the most sacred of the whole year.
A New Tradition; American rebirth
In the early days of Christianity, the birth of Jesus was not a holiday. It wasn't until the 4th century that church officials decided to institute a day in celebration of the birth of Christ. It caused some controversy with the Orthodox Christians as to what day it should be celebrated. Biblical evidence suggests that Christ was born in spring (shepherds don't herd cattle during the winter months), so the Orthodox Christians argued that the day should be in the middle of spring. Despite all of this, Pope Julius chose December 25th for the celebrations in an attempt to adopt and absorb the Saturnalia traditions. The Church believed that by holding the celebration at the same time as the other festivals, Christmas would become more popular and the Pagan customs would be swept under the rug. They called these first celebrations the Feast of the Nativity.
The Feast of the Nativity had spread to Egypt by the year 432, and then to England by the 6th century. By the 8th century it had spread to Scandinavia and other parts of Europe. The Church had been right- by the Middle Ages, Christmas was a widely popular celebration. The Christmas of the Middle Ages was much like our modern day Mardi Gras.
When the Pilgrims came to America, they did not bring the Christmas traditions with them. Christmas was not celebrated from 1659 to 1681. It wasn't until the Jamestown colony was built that Christmas was celebrated in the New World. This happened up until the American Revolution. After the Revolution, no English customs were celebrated for a while- this included Christmas.
Christmas became a national holiday June 26th, 1870. Over the next 100 years, Americans shaped the way Christmas was celebrated. They built new traditions in place of the old. People began to think that they were celebrating the same way it had always been done, when really Americans rebuilt Christmas to fit the growing needs of a new nation. Today, our Christmas is a magical time. People decorate their trees with bright lights and tinsel, wrap presents in brightly colored paper to give each other, and make their Christmas wish lists. Kids await Christmas Eve, and the arrival of jolly ol' Saint Nick. Though it may not be the same as its ancient beginnings, Christmas is still a very important holiday for people all around the world.